Comparison

BMJ Best Practice vs PCDS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

BMJ Best Practice

Access up-to-date, evidence-based clinical guidance for healthcare professionals. This app offers offline access to diagnostic, treatment, and prevention information, along with patient leaflets, calculators, and procedure videos. It also tracks CME/CPD activities.

Highlights
  • Evidence-based clinical guidance
  • Offline access
  • Patient leaflets
  • Medical calculators
  • Guidance videos
  • CME/CPD tracking
Features
Read full description

Instant access to the latest evidence-based guidance for healthcare professionals. Updated daily, BMJ Best Practice provides healthcare professionals with the latest evidence-based clinical decision support information. It's available offline, which means clinical decision support can be accessed anytime, anywhere. This app can be downloaded by those who have access to the BMJ Best Practice website, and have already set-up a username and password. Don’t have a subscription? Download the app and access a free 7 day trial. The app provides: - Fast access to the latest guidance on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and prevention - 500+ patient leaflets - 250+ medical calculators - Guidance videos on common clinical procedures - Automatic CME/CPD activity tracking Your feedback helps to inform future developments. At BMJ, we have a user-centered product development process, which means that we enhance the product based on what our customers, and our users tell us they need and want. As a result, we have introduced features such as ‘night mode’ and patient leaflets to the app. If you have a question or want to provide feedback, please contact us at support@bmj.com. Thank you!

About

PCDS

This app offers educational resources and diagnostic tools for healthcare professionals managing dermatological issues. It aims to enhance knowledge and skills in skin condition diagnosis and treatment for primary care settings.

Highlights
  • Dermatology education resources
  • Skin diagnostic tools
  • Guidance on skin condition management
  • Resources for primary care settings
  • Networking opportunities
Features
Read full description

The PCDS (Primary Care Dermatology Society) provides dermatology education for all healthcare professionals. The PCDS App houses our key educational resources and skin tools. We are a professional organisation dedicated to supporting healthcare professionals who deal with dermatological issues in primary care settings. The PCDS offers resources, education, and networking opportunities to enhance the knowledge and skills of primary care practitioners in the field of dermatology. We provide guidance on the diagnosis and management of skin conditions commonly encountered in primary care, aiming to improve patient care and outcomes.

Screenshots

BMJ Best Practice4 screens
PCDS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: BMJ Best Practice at monthly against PCDS's every 14 months. PCDS's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BMJ Best Practice ships an update monthly, PCDS every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
BMJ Best Practice versus PCDS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBMJ Best PracticePCDS
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (207 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews86.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings207 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 14 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB83 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperBMJ GroupPrimary Care Dermatology Society

Bugs and requests

BMJ Best Practice

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App getting stuck on download screen
  • Inability to open the app on certain devices
  • Automatic logout issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to save favorites and bookmarks
  • Improved support for landscape mode and split-screen
  • Author/reference details for content
  • Institutional login option

PCDS

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

BMJ Best Practice

No in-app purchases

None

PCDS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BMJ Best Practice free?
BMJ Best Practice is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PCDS free?
PCDS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do BMJ Best Practice or PCDS have ads?
Neither BMJ Best Practice nor PCDS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BMJ Best Practice or PCDS?
BMJ Best Practice ships an update monthly, and PCDS every 14 months. Most recently, BMJ Best Practice was updated on September 28, 2026 and PCDS on September 21, 2026.

Other comparisons